In all creation before man, God simply speaks and it is so.  With man however, God takes time to call attention to this work, for it is the highlight of His creative work.  Man is God's most valued creation, which makes His announcement all the more meaningful.  God is not calling attention simply to man, as if man is so valuable in and of himself.  God is calling all in heaven to attention, in order that they might see Him, for it is in man where His magnificent creative power and character is most clearly seen.  The account of Genesis 5 then, shows us that this image has since passed from generation to generation, and thus exists in every human that lives today, for all are ultimately descendents of Adam.  Therefore, children, as God’s image bearers are as valuable to God as His original creation.

• Genesis 1:26-27 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…”  So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
• Genesis 5:1-3 – This is the book of the generations of Adam.  When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.  Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.  When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 

If God is intimately involved in forming a human even in its earliest stages of development it is indication that a life is of extremely high value to Him whether it is in or out of the womb.  We ought to value life in every form and age that it is valued by God.

• Psalm 139:13-16 – For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.

What we learn from Jesus is that not only does He care for the well being (both spiritual and physical) of children, but that adults have something to learn from them.  The faith of a child is the purest form of faith that exists, so adults ought to be concerned with not only wanting to minister to them, seeking to bring them to faith, but they also ought to be seeking to learn from children.

We also learn from Jesus that a person’s genuine and honest ministry to children and to those like children who are typically neither able nor mindful to reciprocate a ministry to the minister, is ministry that exemplifies what it means to seek to “be last and servant of all.”  Though there may be very little earthly reward for pouring our lives out for the spiritual well being of children, ultimately we can know with confidence that this kind of ministry pleases the heart of Christ Himself.  “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

• Mark 10:13-16 – And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.  But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”  And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. 
• Mark 9:34b-37 - …on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.  And he sat down and called the twelve.  And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”  And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Children are not born innocent of sin, for the sin of Adam has been passed down from generation to generation just as the image of God has been.  We are born under the wrath of God and from birth are in need of the righteousness of Christ to be imputed to us in order to be justified.

• Romans 5:12 – Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…
• Ephesians 2:3 - …we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

The basis for God’s judgment on a person is their rejection of God’s natural revelation, not their rejection of Christ.  God has clearly revealed Himself in creation, giving man a sufficient basis to seek Him out honestly.  It can be concluded then, that those without the ability to rightly process God’s natural revelation are no less savable than those who have openly rejected God despite their reception of natural revelation.  If God would offer salvation to those who have openly rejected Him despite His revelation; surely He would at least offer salvation in Christ in some way shape or form to those who have not even had the opportunity to reject Him.

This is not saying that those without the ability to rightly process God’s revelation are not guilty; certainly they are guilty of sin like the rest of mankind since Adam’s sin has been passed to them.  This is all simply to say that those who are without the ability to rightly process God’s natural revelation are savable, just like the rest of mankind.  They are no less savable than anyone else, but not because they are not guilty; rather, because God is good and just. 

• John 9:41 – Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt (or sin); but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt (or sin) remains.  (Additions in parenthesis mine)
• Romans 1:20 – For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse. 

God has ordained it so that children are entrusted primarily to the care of their earthly parents/guardians, to the point that children are under the direct authority of their parents until they reach adulthood.  God has designed it so that His will is carried out for children as they lovingly submit to the leadership of their parents (whether the parents are believers or not), insofar as submitting to their leadership does not require that the child violate the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures.

• Exodus 20:12 – Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
• Ephesians 6:1-4 – Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
• Colossians 3:12 – Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.